Judge defers decision on three council appointment petitions until next meeting

A court order read into the record said Judge Roschini has deferred a decision on three petitions seeking appointments to fill council vacancies and directed the matter be revisited after the city council makes another attempt to fill the open seats.

The order was announced early in the meeting by a city staff member who read the judge's language to the council. The order instructs that the court will defer its decision “until the conclusion of the next summary city council meeting and another attempt of remaining council members to fill the vacancies,” according to the read statement.

The announcement replaced what would have been immediate action by the council and left the appointments unresolved going into the next scheduled meeting. City staff did not provide a schedule for a follow-up attempt while the item remained on the agenda.

No formal council motion or vote on the appointments was recorded after the order was read.